Mad Hot Ballroom

Eleven-year-old New York City public school kids journey into the world of ballroom dancing and reveal pieces of themselves and their world along the way. Told from their candid, sometimes humorous perspectives, these kids are transformed, from reluctant participants to determined competitors, from typical urban kids to "ladies and gentlemen," on their way to try to compete in the final citywide competition.

Q&A PARTICIPANTS
Victoria Malvagno is an acclaimed performing artist, educator, and advocate whose work spans film, theatre, and community arts. Best known for her featured appearance in the beloved documentary Mad Hot Ballroom (2005), Victoria’s presence helped bring the transformative power of social dance to students and audiences worldwide.

With over two decades of experience in arts education, Victoria has been a cornerstone of Dancing Classrooms since 1999! serving as a Teaching Artist, Senior Educational Liaison, and Program Manager — roles in which she has led dance residencies across New York’s five boroughs, judged competitions, and emceed major events both regionally and nationally.

A classically trained performer, Victoria holds a Bachelor of Arts in Acting with a minor in Dance from Stony Brook University and a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Brooklyn College. She is a founding member of The Barefoot Theatre Company, with performance credits across New York stages including 78th Street Theatre Lab, Cherry Lane Theater, and TriBeca Playhouse, as well as international appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Boston Playwright’s Theater.

Victoria’s work consistently bridges performance and pedagogy, inspiring creative expression, confidence, and connection in communities through movement and storytelling.

Rodney Eric López is an accomplished educator, artist, and non-profit leader. His diverse professional background includes successful tenures in teaching artistry in public schools in New York City and beyond, training, coaching and facilitation, corporate communications and public relations, and executive non-profit leadership.

Rodney served as Executive Director of Dancing Classrooms in New York City, where he was responsible for leading program growth, supporting new business efforts, training and professional development, and serving as the face of the organization in stewardship of its 20 national and international affiliates. His teaching work with Dancing Classrooms is featured in the Paramount Classics hit documentary Mad Hot Ballroom. He is a master instructor of Latin and social dance and has taught children and adults the art of dance both for personal enjoyment and as a powerful tool for team and community building.

Prior to his career in arts education, Rodney was a successful professional in the area of communications and PR, serving in communication leadership roles at North General Hospital, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and BSMG Worldwide. He is the creator of the Generosity and Abundance Process online course and author of The Generosity Solution. He founded Currents RI, a giving circle dedicated to engaging men of color in philanthropic purpose. He has served on several boards and is a member of the Rhode Island Foundation's Equity Leadership Initiative.

He is the author of "I Don't Speak Spanish, but I Understand Everything When I'm Dancing!", a new social memoir that explores the intersection of language shame, identity, and Salsa.

Rodney holds a B.S. in Communications Studies from New York University where he was a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholar and a Certificate in Spiritual Entrepreneurship from The Glean Network and Columbia Business School.